The Donkey and the Well

One day, a donkey fell into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the donkey was old, and the well, needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down. The animal hit on a plan. As each spadeful of dirt hit his back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up on the growing mound of earth. Eventually, the mound grow high enough for him to step out the well and happily trotted off!